The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus and an image processing method therefor. In particular, the invention relates to an image apparatus for receiving an arbitrary image signal including a moving picture signal and recording it on a prescribed recording medium and an image processing apparatus therefor.
In recent years, the movement of protecting the right relating to such production as music, art, etc., that is, the copyright, has expanded socially and technically.
In particular, because, for example, the advancement of computers and networks made it possible to easily copy or distribute digital music, image or moving picture data, a problem has arisen that music, image, or moving picture data is copied, broadcast, displayed, or used for like purposes without permission of the copyrighter who produced it (what is called illegal use).
Image recording apparatuses for recording, on a prescribed recording medium, image data or moving picture data produced by shooting with a camera-incorporated VTR, a digital camera, or the like are required to take a measure to protect the right of a copyrighter who produced image data or moving picture data by shooting.
In particular, in the case of general-purpose image recording apparatuses, it is generally the case that a copyrighter is the owner of an image recording apparatus. To the owner of an image recording apparatus, it is desirable that not only the copyright of image data or moving picture data produced by shooting but also the owner's right, that is, a right of allowing only a permitted person to use the image recording apparatus, be protected.
However, there is a problem that conventional image recording apparatuses do not have neither of a mechanism for protecting the copyright of image data including moving picture data produced by shooting nor a mechanism for protecting the right of the owner of the image recording apparatus.
One method for protecting the right of an author is such that information to be used for claiming copyright, for example, the name or the like of the copyrighter, is added to an image or a moving picture produced by shooting and the right of the copyrighter is claimed by causing the name or the like of the copyrighter to be displayed in a reproduced image or moving picture. However, conventional image recording apparatuses cannot easily add arbitrary information to be used for claiming copyright to image data or moving picture data produced by shooting with the image recording apparatus itself.
On the other hand, one method for protecting the owner's right is such that an image recording apparatus is provided with a lock and its operation is prohibited unless it is unlocked with a key. This method requires the owner to manage the key separately from the image recording apparatus for safety. However, such management of a key is very cumbersome.